Puppet or marionette show



T. MATHEWS.

PUPFET 0R MARIONETTE SHOW.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1920.

Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

T. MATHEWS.

PUPPET 0R MARIONETTE SHOW.

APPLICATION men JUNE 14, 1920.

1 ,403 ,5 14, Patented Jan. 17, 1922.-

2 $HEETS-SHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

riroili'a's MATHE S, or LEICESTER, ENGiiArin; MA'rHE'wsA-iin 31133? W.

BUCKINGHAM nxncv'rons or SAID THOMAS MATHEWS, DECEASED.

PUPPET on MARIONETTE snow.

Specification of Letters Patent. Ja Application filed June 14, 1920.Serial No. 33,982. i

emmr'nii minnn' THE PROVISIONS OF THE Adi orri'Ancn'a, 1921, 41 s ri'r'.L, 1513;

I '0 all whom it 7n ay coerce: V

Be' it known that 1, THOMAS Marrinws, subject of the King Great Britain,residing at Leicester, inthe county of Leicester, England, have inventedcertain new and usefull mprovements in or Relating to Puppet orMarionette Shows, (for which I have filed an application in England Nov.13th, 1917, which has since become Patent No.

ll l'AOQ) of which the following is a speci-f fication, reference beinghad therein to the The invention is preferably made lout'of cardboardorthe'like and consists of an upright member or background with or without wingsand which may be' printed or painted in colours or otherwise torepresent stage scenery of any suitable character. A proscenium,platform or stage may be hinged to the uprightn ember so that it can becollapsed fiat to same when not in use; Or the proscenium, platform 'orstage may be printed or painted on the upright mem her.

The upright member is fashioned along its upper edge so that the chin ofthe operator can rest therein with his face'exposed overthe said member,and connected detachably to the fashioned edge is the headless body of apuppet having jointed limbs.

The head of the operator appears to form the head of the puppet, and thelimbs of the latter are actuated by cords, strings or wires which passthrough slots in the top edge of the upright member.

In further describing the invention reference will be made to theaccompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is apeifspectiveviewrepresenting, in'use,fa puppet show device constitut ing a concreteexample of the invention.

shown in Figure 1. v, r 1

1n the convenient example shown in F ig- Figure 4 is a rear View of thepuppet ures 1 and 2, the toy comprises an upright member 1 Which forms ageneral backgroundand may consist of a piece of card board suitablyprinted or got up as indicated, a forwardly projecting platform or 7stage 2, and a puppet or figure I The, platform or stageis tached'at 4to a vertical front piece 5 which by means of short sides 6 is carriedbythe parts 7 these being vertically hinged at 8 on the back 1. Thesides Gare hingedly co n-l. nected at 9 and 10 to the front piece 5 andparts 7 respectively so that whenfthe plat c form is raised as indicatedby the arrow in I F igure 2, the structure consisting of: the

members 5, 6 and 7 will fold flat againstthe back by the hinged sides'Gand parts 7 turn ing in the manner indicated .by arrowsi in Figure 1.The platform has on its rearedge a tongue llvwhich fits into a slot 12in the back 1 for the purpose of supporting the rear partof platform inthe horizontal posi-.

tion when the device is opened for use. will be understood that tocollapse the device the platform is raised and with the. folding theplatform forcing forwardthefront" 5.

The platform may be arrangedin any other convenient manner or maybeomitted. alto} gether as indicated in FigureB wherethe backmember 1consists ofa fiat board suit-p purpose hereinafter appearing f Thepuppet may be made of cardboardor ple book 18 by which the puppet may bede-v tachably connected to the upright member 1 by hanging it upon theedge of the opening 13, the hook being received in the aforesaid notch14 which prevents sideways displace ment while the operators chinfitting into the opening prevents upward displacement of the puppet. Thebody part 15 has a shaped upper edge 19 to fit under the operators chin.

Cords, strings or wires 20 attached to the limbs 16, 17 of the puppetpass upwardly from the uppet in front of the member as shown in igure 1and are carried in open ended slots 21 or passages, afterwards passingdown behind the member lwvhere they may, as indicated by the dottedlines, be manipulated by the hand of the operator to move the limbs ofthe. puppet. To provide freedom of movement for the limbs, the body ofthe figure or puppet is held away from the face ofthe upright member 1by small projecting loops 22 of wire (Figure 4') which conveniently maybeformed with the hook 18.

The hook 18 constitutes a convenient means for supporting or suspendingthe puppetupon the member 1 as it admits of tho figures being alreadychanged. The open ended slots 21 also allow the cords, strings orwirestobe easilyinserted and removed when thefigures are changed. Other meansmay however, be usedfor sup iiorting the pet. uppets or figures ofvarious types and characters having movable limbs may be interchangeablyused withthe main part 1, an d when the figure isthe' representation ofany. animal," bird or'other similar character, a

detachable mask" of corresponding facial likeness may be worn by theoperator.

Theupright member or background 1 may have wings hingedly connected toits sides 2- -3. These may fold flat upon. the "said member or be openedto angle relatively thereto to assist in supporting it for use.

What I claim then is 2- 1. A toy of the marionette type prefer ably madeof cardboard and comprising an upiightbackgr'ound member suitablyprinted, and a figure adapted to be detachably supported fromthe uprightmember, said figure having looselyjointed limbs operable by strings, andthe background member being adapted at the upper part for theoperatorshead to be visibly projected thereover immediately above the figure.

2. A toy of the marionette typepreferably made of cardboard andcomprislng an upri ght. background member suitably printed,

' upright member.

a figure consisting of a body and loosely jointed limbs the latter beingoperable by strings, and means to support said figure on the Front ofthe background member, the latter being fashioned along its upper edgeso that the chin of the operator can rest therein above the figure. V

3. A toy of the marionette type preferably made of cardboard andcomprising an upright background member suitably printed and having anopening in its upper edge to receive the operators chin, a figureconsisting of a body and loosely connected and jointed limbs operable bystrings, anda hook on the back of said figure for attachment totheopening in the background member to splpport the figure underneaththe operators 0 1n.

4. A toy of the marionette type preferably ma de of cardboardandcomprising an upright background member suitably printed and havingan openin in its upper edge to receive the operator s chin, a figureconsisting of a body shaped at the top to fit under the operators chinand having loosely jointed limbs movably. connected thereto, strings foroperating said limbs, and a hook on the back of the body adapted toengage the opening in the background to carry the figure in the frontthereof, the strings from the limbs of the figure being carried in openended slots in the background member so as to be operable behind thelatter for moving the limbs.

, 5. A toy of the marionette type preferably made of cardboard andcomprising an upright background member suitably printed and having ashaped opening in its upper edge to receive the operators chin, aplatform hinged to said member so that it can be collapsed to a flatcondition when not in use, a figure consisting ofa body and looselyfront piece hing'edly attached to the back-' ground member, a platformhingedly at tached to the front piece and adapted to engage thebackground member when in use,

said front piece and platform collapsing to a flat condition when not inuse, a figure consisting of a body and loosely jointed and connectedlimbs operable by strings from behind the upright member, and means todetachably carry said figure on the front of the 7. A toy of themarionette'type comprising a fiat upright background member of sheetcardboard, printed to represent a proscenium and stage and having ashaped opening in its upper edge to receive the operators chin, a fiatcut out figure of printed cardboard consisting of a headless body havinga shaped opening at the top to correspond with that in the backgroundmember the shaped opening of the background member to support the figureon the front of the latter.

8. A toy of the marionette type comprising a flat upright backgroundmember of sheet cardboard printed to represent a proscenium and stageand having a shaped opening in its upper edge to receive the operatorschin, a fiat cut out figure of printed cardboard consisting of aheadless body having a shaped opening at the top to corre spond withthat in the background member and fit under the operators chin, looselyjointed limbs pivotally connected to said body and operable by means ofstrings pressed through open ended slots in the upper edge of thebackground member so as to be operable behind the latter, a wire hookrigidly attached to the back of the figure body and adapted to engagewith a notch in the shaped opening of the background member to supportthe figure on the front of the latter, and projecting loops of wire onthe rear of the figure to hold the latter away from the face of thebackground member to provide freedom of movement of the limbs.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS MATHEWfi. Witnesses R. W. C. TAYLOR, GEORGE LESTER.

